According to reports, Fitbit’s Ionic smartwatch was launched in 2018 and continued until 2020. But according to U.S. officials, the company did not quickly report, as required by law, that the battery inside the watch was creating an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death. Consumers
On Thursday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that Fitbit had agreed to pay a $12.25 million civil penalty for delaying reporting that the watch’s lithium-ion battery could pose a heat hazard.
The commission noted that in early 2020, Fitbit released a firmware update to reduce the potential for battery overheating, as users continued to report painful burns caused by the watch. But Fitbit didn’t voluntarily recall the Ionic smartwatch until March 2, 2022.
Since then, the commission said, Fitbit has received at least 174 reports worldwide of lithium-ion battery overheating, which caused 118 injuries, including two cases of third-degree burns and two cases of second-degree burns. Four of the Kindles are included.
“Commissioner Rich Truka Jr. said in a statement Thursday that Fitbit should have immediately reported multiple heat incidents, including second- and third-degree burns. “Instead, Fitbit broke the law by delaying its reporting, putting consumers at risk of burns. Many of these injuries could have been prevented.
In a statement Friday, a Fitbit spokesperson said, “Customer safety is our top priority, and we are pleased to resolve the issue that the CPSC has voluntarily removed from the 2022 recall of the Fitbit Ionic. created.”
Nearly one million devices, which track activity, heart rate and sleep, were sold in the United States from September 2017 to December 2021, with an additional 693,000 sold globally. Fitbit said injury reports represented less than 0.01 percent of all Ionic watches sold. According to the Consumer Commission, the company stopped production of the Ionic in 2020.
According to the Consumer Commission, at the time of the 2022 recall, owners were offered $299 after returning Ionic watches and received a discount code for select Fitbit devices.
As part of the settlement agreement, Fitbit agreed to submit an annual report, including an update on the effectiveness of its revised compliance policies.
Google bought Fitbit for $12.1 billion in early 2021 after agreeing not to use health and fitness data that Fitbit had created to target ads to Internet users.
In 2014, Fitbit recalled more than a million of its Force wristbands after users complained of severe skin irritation.
But the company followed suit later that year, following similar complaints, by adding a warning about nickel allergies and a sizing guideline to discourage users from wearing wristbands. I avoided recalling my flex wristbands.
